


Bloody Nose

by Vetashad



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bullying, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mild Blood, Truth or Dare, UshiTen Week 2020, Ushiten Week, fears and phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26101327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vetashad/pseuds/Vetashad
Summary: “Okay, okay, my turn!” The eight of them were sitting in a loose ring on the floor of Taichi’s room, his roommate was away on some band thing he had said, but the real reason was he always had the best snacks, playing a dumb game. And, it was Tendou’s turn to choose the victim. “Wakatoshi, truth or dare?”
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 312
Collections: Ushiten Week 2020





	Bloody Nose

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains mentions/descriptions of blood and injury and implied mentions of bullying! Do not proceed if those make you uncomfortable!
> 
> Here’s Day 2: Phobias of Ushiten Week 2020!! Have fun!
> 
> Find me on Twitter at [@vetashad](https://twitter.com/vetashad)

“Okay, okay, my turn!” The eight of them were sitting in a loose ring on the floor of Taichi’s room, his roommate was away on some band thing he had said, but the real reason was he always had the best snacks, playing a dumb game. And, it was Tendou’s turn to choose the victim. “Wakatoshi, truth or dare?”

Tendou’s grin was bright, blindingly so, and full of mischief. Wakatoshi knew better than to pick dare when it was Tendou’s turn: he had already had Hayato order them a pizza, probably for all of them to share, Wakatoshi concluded, because he had never seen Tendou eat more than one or two slices, and made Goshiki do the chicken dance for a full minute in the middle of the room. Tendou had laughed hysterically. Wakatoshi had even cracked a smile. 

“Truth.” It seemed like the safer option to Wakatoshi. 

“Hmm,” Tendou narrowed his eyes, chin in his hand, elbows propped on some large plush Pokémon, one of the ones that usually lived on his bunk, in his lap. “Oh, I know!” He leveled a finger at Wakatoshi. “What’s your biggest fear?”

“Probably something like losing to Oikawa, or something.” Hayato elbowed Wakatoshi lightly. 

“After following him around like an NPC for so long, I’d be scared of that, too.” Semi laughed, then tossed a piece of candy in the air, leaning to catch it in his mouth. He missed, the candy landing in Shirabu’s lap, who popped it into his mouth before Semi could retrieve it. 

“I’m not afraid of losing. It’s frustrating, but it doesn’t scare me.” Wakatoshi was having a hard time dredging up something he _was_ afraid of. 

“What about like, bugs? Or spiders?” Taichi supplied. Tendou wrinkled his nose. They were all _very_ familiar with how Tendou felt about bugs. He would scream and run at _any_ bug, no matter how small, and he would _always_ come to one of the others to save him from it. 

“No. Even if I were, I’d be over that fear by now.” Wakatoshi shot a look at Tendou, who threw his hands up dramatically. 

“I don’t like them! They have gross feet and no respect for personal boundaries!”

“Bugs have _gross feet_ and don’t respect _personal boundaries_. Where do you get this stuff?” Reon shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips.

“They’re, you know, grabby,” Tendou made pinching motions with his hands. “And they crawl all over you and bite you and—and fly into your mouth when you’re running!” Tendou finished with a pointed, slightly wild look in his eyes. 

“Hey, shut up. I want to hear what our _esteemed captain_ has to say. It’s his turn anyway,” Shirabu said, gesturing to Wakatoshi with one hand while the other plucked Semi’s bag of candy from his hand. Goshiki leaned forward, eager for another chance to outpace his “ _rival._ ”

Wakatoshi was silent for a moment longer. “I can’t think of anything I’m truly afraid of,” he said finally. He knew it wasn’t the answer they wanted to hear, or one that furthered their little game very well, but Wakatoshi had always faced things head-on. He knew, with enough practice and fortitude, he could overcome any challenge. And that confidence, based in his drive to succeed, made it difficult to fear things. Nothing could hold him back, so why keep an irrational distaste for any arbitrary thing?

The others were silent for a moment, until Hayato finally spoke. “Yeah, okay, that tracks. Good ol’ Wakatoshi, right?” He clapped his hands together in front of him. “Well, who’s the next victim, Wakatoshi?”

* * *

Wakatoshi didn’t think anything of the situation afterwards. They had kept playing for a bit, eaten pizza, laughed, then finally all returned to their respective dorms to sleep. Their routine went on as normal. So did Wakatoshi.

He had no reason to think about any fears he might have. Not until several days later. 

* * *

Since his season as a third year had ended, it was perfectly reasonable for Wakatoshi to opt out of practice. He preferred not to, he loved the thrill of the game and the power in his muscles, but also because he was a powerful opponent to train the first and second years against, the ones whose hands he would be leaving the team and his legacy. 

But today, Wakatoshi planned to skip. He had a huge math test the next day and needed to do some serious studying with Tendou, who actually somehow _understood_ the material and Wakatoshi had miraculously convinced to _also_ skip practice, if he was going to pass. 

Wakatoshi watched the last minutes of his last afternoon class, economics, tick by on the clock rather than study the flash cards of _important economic concepts_ in his hands. He was anxious to get out of the stuffy classroom and away from the droning teacher, so he could maximize his study time with Tendou.

He packed up stealthily as the last seconds dwindled away, seemingly taking longer to circle the clock than entirely necessary, and was pushing through the door, finally, before the bell finished its tone. 

Wakatoshi knew better than to run in the halls, but he was the first one in the hallway and the long, empty stretch of corridor, afternoon sun pouring through the windows like liquid gold, was almost too tempting. It looked like the long road to freedom, wide and open and unobstructed by failure. But, much to Wakatoshi’s dismay, other students started streaming out of classroom doors, obscuring his clear view of the end of the hall. 

The crowd, though rapidly thickening, was still sparse enough to cut a broad swath through. Not that it much mattered, because Wakatoshi’s large presence always made sure others got out of the way of where he was walking, something he was especially thankful for today. 

Wakatoshi hesitated at the door leading out, hand resting on the sun-warmed metal, brow slightly creased. He could go out now, and cut across the grounds to the dorms, or he could head down the hallway a bit more to the vending machines in the cafeteria and buy some drinks for the two of them. Something sugary might keep Tendou motivated, Wakatoshi decided, and swung towards the cafeteria.

His hesitation cost him, as he got caught behind a gaggle of girls, the tallest of which barely reached his shoulder, giggling and buying snacks from the machine. Tendou did always say that vending machine had the best selection and was, by extension, the busiest. 

Wakatoshi waited, lips set into an almost imperceptible line and hoped Tendou wouldn’t wonder why he was so late when it was Wakatoshi who told him he wanted to get studying immediately after the school day ended and to get back to their dorm with all due haste. 

When the girls finally left, carrying more food than they could possibly eat, Wakatoshi rushed forward, fed money into the machine, and punched the buttons with slightly more force than he meant to, his impatience getting the best of him. His fingertip stung dully from catching the edge of the hard plastic buttons, but Wakatoshi ignored it, watching expectantly as the machine dumped some candy and drinks, something sweet and fruity for Tendou, and plain green tea for him.

He spent a moment scooping up his purchase, shrugging off his backpack and jacket, transferring the food, drinks, and jacket into his bag, then located the nearest door leading outside. 

This time, Wakatoshi didn’t stop himself from running across the lawns of the campus. He was already late and he didn’t want Tendou to think that he ditched him and their study date. Wakatoshi almost missed a step. _Was_ it a date? It was only the two of them, Wakatoshi was nervous about being late, and he _had_ gone out of his way to buy snacks and drinks for them. All of those things pointed to this _being a date_. Wakatoshi’s heart beat even faster. He had asked Tendou _on a date_ without even meaning to. Not that Wakatoshi would be opposed to that, but…he didn’t know if Tendou felt the same way. Wakatoshi pushed his legs to move faster. 

He only stopped when he barged through the door of their room to find it…empty. Tendou wasn’t there, but Wakatoshi could tell he _had_ been. His bag was dropped carelessly on the floor in the middle of the room, his water bottle a few feet away where its roll had been arrested by the leg of the desk. His jacket was thrown onto Wakatoshi’s bottom bunk, not an unusual place for it after Tendou inevitably discarded it at the earliest possible moment. His shirt, the blue button-up of their uniform, was draped over a high rung of the bunk’s ladder and—all the nervous excitement inside of Wakatoshi disappeared as an unfamiliar pang lanced through his stomach. 

There was blood on the collar.

Wakatoshi dropped his own bag, and ran back through the door. Where would Tendou be? At the school nurse? No, he hated going to the nurse, Wakatoshi thought. He would clean himself up, keep whatever had happened to himself, erase all evidence of it and act as if it had never occurred. 

Wakatoshi reached the bathroom at the end of the hall and threw open the door, frantic by that point. His heart was beating in his throat but he couldn’t be sure it was from racing across campus. Was _this_ fear?

But Wakatoshi had no time to sit down and contemplate the meaning of fear, though, Tendou was at the sink farthest from the door, wearing a t-shirt, some silly, nerdy shirt that was _definitely_ against dress code that he was _definitely_ wearing as an undershirt all day. He had a wad of paper towels in one hand, held to his nose. He spun, eyes wide, when the door banged shut, Wakatoshi in front of it. 

In his surprise, Tendou lowered the paper towel instinctively to speak. “Wakatoshi! What are you doing?”

But Wakatoshi couldn’t respond. He only stared. Tendou’s nose was bloody and his bottom lip was split. Crimson streaked his porcelain skin, in a stark, heart-rending contrast. Deep purple bruising was starting to spread under his skin, fresh and painful. 

Wakatoshi’s silence and wide eyes finally must have registered with Tendou, because he snapped the paper towels, stained a dark, sticky red, back to his face and turned halfway away from Wakatoshi, no doubt to hide his injured face.

Wakatoshi came closer; closer until he was within reach of Tendou. He reached out, slowly, tentatively, one hand circling Tendou’s waist and gently turning him towards Wakatoshi, the other to take the soaked bundle from his face. 

“Wakatoshi?” Tendou’s voice was fragile, _afraid_ , but he didn’t pull away. 

“…what happened?” Wakatoshi asked, helping Tendou up onto the counter, and dampening a new paper towel. 

Tendou hesitated. There was something in his eyes that Wakatoshi had only seen a few times before, a crack in his happy, carefree mask that revealed a veritable sea of emotion, feelings he kept to himself out of fear that he would be preyed on by souls crueler than his. 

“Satori?” He prompted gently.

“It’s nothing, Wakatoshi. I…I guess I said something and it came off wrong. Wrong enough to warrant this.” Tendou gestured vaguely to his face. “It’s happened before. It’ll happen again. People just don’t like me, y’know?” Tendou dropped his hands into his lap, the fingers of one hand twisting around the other’s.

“They were wrong. They don’t know you. Not like I do.” Wakatoshi started wiping away the smeared blood on Tendou’s, _no, Satori’s_ , face, one hand placed on his cheek to steady him. 

Satori was afraid of so many things. Bugs, tight spaces, dolls, scary movies, doctors’ offices, opening up to other people. Wakatoshi, however, was only afraid of one thing: seeing Satori hurt, his face bloodied, defeat and resignation to being hated in his eyes. Wakatoshi never wanted to see him like this again, his spirit broken. He would do everything in his power to keep Satori, _his_ Satori, safe from all the things that scared him. 

* * *

“Come on, Wakatoshi, we can’t just sit in the bathroom for the rest of the day. You have a test to study for, remember?” Satori’s lips, no longer bloody, and so, so _soft_ , curved into a smile.

Wakatoshi shuddered. Maybe math tests scared him, too.


End file.
